Kids With Nannies Are Less Connected?

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Most moms are guilty of letting the boob tube babysit their kids once in a while. Screen time — be it in front of the television or computer — can give parents a much-needed break to get stuff done and keeps children entertained while they watch their favorite shows, chat with their friends, or play video games. A recent study by a caregiving provider found that a nanny or babysitter's charges spent less time wired and more time outdoors, which makes sense since the person is hired to cater to the child. It said:

Nannies4hire.com conducted a study with nannies and babysitters registered with the online database service. In a survey of 1,000 caregivers, the positive influence of a nanny in the house is clearly felt, as children ages 8-18 are only spending 1.6 hours a day on computers, watching TV, listening to music on iPods or mp3 players, and playing video games, almost 6 hours less than the average child. A surprise added benefit of having a nanny in the home involves the health of these children as well; on average children with a nanny spend 3 hours a day playing outdoors.

When deciding whether to hire a nanny to care for their children, American families now have a new statistic to consider: how much time their children spend plugged into media. Children with a nanny are less plugged into computers, iPods and video games than the national average. A recent study by the Kaiser Family Foundation reports average use of media by children ages 8-18 is about 7.5 hours a day. Nannies4hire.com subsequently conducted a study with nannies and babysitters registered with the online database service. In a survey of 1,000 caregivers, children ages 8-18 are only spending 1.6 hours a day on computers, watching TV, listening to music on iPods or mp3 players, and playing video games. Thus, children with nannies spend almost 6 hours less on a daily basis being glued to a computer, television, or gaming screen or otherwise engaged in solitary, sedentary techno-activity.
And what do children with nannies do with this extra time? On average, children with a nanny spend 3 hours a day playing outdoors. This increase in physical and social activity pays tremendous dividends. Solitary, sedentary lifestyles have been determined to be one of the major causes of the growing incidence of childhood obesity and social maladjustment. Therefore, another benefit of having a nanny in the home involves the health of these children as well.
“The number one goal of a nanny is the health and happiness of the child they supervise. They are not paid to watch a child with video games; they are paid to contribute to emotional, intellectual and physical well-being of the children in their care,” states Candi Wingate, President of Nannies4hire.com. “Nannies interact with the children in their care, taking them outside whenever possible and engaging their minds in much more than the mindless activity of watching TV or playing on the computer,” Wingate continues.
Nannies can benefit families in many ways. These recent studies add even more reasons to hire nannies for young children. After all, what’s more important that the health and well-being of your children?

I defiantly disagree with this, but it may be because I started babysitting in the winter. I babysit three times a week (typically in the evening), and the boys (10 and 11) just want to play x-box, watch tv, or get the computer. I don't know if it's because it is dark outside or what, but they don't really like playing board games either. On the other hand, the three year old loves playing outside, but I'm guessing it's because of the way they were reared.

So true, at least in my situation. My nanny only watches TV with my son in the morning because I am already watching with him while I wait for her to come. Once the TV is off, it stays off until I get home from work and my son asks for the TV to go back on (kinda sad for me if you think about it). They spend their time either outside or having playdates in our buildings playroom.
But I also think there is nothing wrong with TV, as long as your children are watching the right shows. My son loves Nick Jr, which is "like preschool on TV." He has actually been learning alot from watching some of his shows, but as a parent, I have to try to also make an effort to turn off the TV once in a while to read a book or play games.